Dana Lixenberg’s Followers (2)

Dana Lixenberg

Born

in Amsterdam, Netherlands

August 07, 1964

Dana Lixenberg is known for her stripped-down portraits that revel in the elemental characteristics of her subjects. She uses a large-format field camera – a cumbersome tool, which necessitates what the artist refers to as a ‘slow dance’ between her and her subjects. The resulting portraits contain an enormous amount of detail and texture, and are as revelatory as a personal encounter. The power of the work arises from its intimacy, compositional rigor and, importantly, the absence of social stereotyping. Lixenberg has been predominantly active in the United States, and her thorough understanding of the country and its society seeps through palpably in her work.

Besides her extensive editorial practice, for which she photographed many cultu Dana Lixenberg is known for her stripped-down portraits that revel in the elemental characteristics of her subjects. She uses a large-format field camera – a cumbersome tool, which necessitates what the artist refers to as a ‘slow dance’ between her and her subjects. The resulting portraits contain an enormous amount of detail and texture, and are as revelatory as a personal encounter. The power of the work arises from its intimacy, compositional rigor and, importantly, the absence of social stereotyping. Lixenberg has been predominantly active in the United States, and her thorough understanding of the country and its society seeps through palpably in her work.

Besides her extensive editorial practice, for which she photographed many cultural icons, she pursues long-term projects with a primary focus on marginalized communities. These projects include Jeffersonville, Indiana (2005), a collection of landscapes and portraits of a small town’s homeless population and The Last Days of Shishmaref (2008), which portrays an Inupiaq community on an eroding island off the coast of Alaska. Lixenberg’s most extensive body of work to date is Imperial Courts, 1993-2015 (2015), which she begun in the aftermath of the 1992 Rodney King riots. Spanning 22 years, the project tracks the changing shape of an underserved community in Watts, Los Angeles. In contrast to the often one dimensional, sensationalized media coverage of this neighborhood, Lixenberg employs a more subdued and collaborative photographic approach. Like her other projects, Imperial Courts consists of a series of photographs and a publication. Exploring other media for the first time, Lixenberg also included audio recordings and created a three-channel video installation. The project was awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2017 and continues to be exhibited internationally.

Dana Lixenberg lives and works in Amsterdam (NL) and New York, NY (US). She studied photography at the London College of Printing (UK) from 1984 to 1986, and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam (NL) from 1987 until 1989. Her work is collected widely and has been exhibited at institutions such as Aperture Foundation, New York, NY (US); Mai Manó Ház, Budapest (HU); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (NL); Centre Photographique, Rouen (FR); MMK, Frankfurt am Main (DE); The Photographers’ Gallery, London (UK); Busan Biennale (KR); Huis Marseille, Amsterdam (NL); LACP, Los Angeles, CA (US); Fotomuseum Den Haag, The Hague (NL) and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (NL).
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Combine Editions
Dana Lixenberg’s books

Average rating: 4.44 · 39 ratings · 4 reviews · 12 distinct works

	Imperial Courts 1993-2015 by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), Carla Williams (Contributor), Kenneth Cox (Contributor) 4.88 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Days of Shishmaref by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), Eefje Blankenvoort (Contributor) 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tupac Biggie by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), Rob Kenner (Contributor), Kevin Powell (Contributor) 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2018	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	United States by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), George Pitts (Contributor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2001	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jeffersonville, Indiana by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), Karel Schampers (Contributor), Hilton Als (Contributor) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ieder kind is speciaal by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), Robin Gerrits liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	De Wallen Amsterdam by Dana Lixenberg (Photographer), Jenny Smets (Contributor) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2025	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Set Amsterdam 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Polaroid 54/59/79 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2022	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Haven House: Eight women in Jeffersonville Indiana, 1998 ; Imperial Courts : portraits at Imperial Courts 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars